Clarence Thomas: Ivy-Leaguers no better than UF law students

Clarence Thomas chatted with students about his advice for surviving law school, the challenges of being a Supreme Court justice and his love of the University of Nebraska Huskers.

By Morgan WatkinsStaff writer

He did his job and he died.

That’s what Clarence Thomas told UF law students he suggested his legal clerks use for his epitaph.

Thomas considers his job as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court an obligation to serve the country and approaches his work with the singular goal of upholding the oath he took when he joined the bench in 1991. He doesn’t think much about what his legacy will be.

“I put my hand on the Bible … and swore to God that I would do this job a certain way,” he said at the UF law school Friday morning before the crowd of about 575 people. “I’m focused exclusively on living up to that oath.”

If soldiers can serve the U.S. overseas, at great risk, he can put on a robe and decide court cases, he said to a courtyard filled with students.

Thomas answered questions from a four-student panel selected by a faculty committee. He was the guest speaker for the Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture Series, established in 2007 in honor of alumnus and former UF President Marshall Criser. The series brings people of national and international note to speak with law students on various topics.

Thomas spoke at a similar event in 2010.

Passing a microphone among them, Thomas and the students on stage chatted about his advice for surviving law school, the challenges of being a Supreme Court justice and his love of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Thomas talked less about specific court decisions or the technical aspects of being a judge and more about his philosophies on life and what is needed to succeed in the legal field.

With the Supreme Court robe off, he drew chuckles from the audience as he spoke candidly about his unconventional path to the highest court in the country.

From his first law job in Missouri to a stint as chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, he called reaching the revered Supreme Court bench “the ultimate detour.”

He didn’t even want the job when former President George H.W. Bush asked him to take it, but you don’t say no to the president.

Thomas offered law school advice ranging from study tips, such as condensing material to one note card until you understand it, to attitude adjustments. He urged students to remain hopeful despite a tough job market.

Calling law school “a horror story,” he promised students what they were learning would eventually make sense to them as they gained more experience.

“I found law school to be as clear as cement,” he said.

People are bombarded with cynical viewpoints today that make them think more negatively about institutions like the Supreme Court and their lives in general, he said.

“What about a diet of the spirit?” he suggested in lieu of focusing on purely physical diets. “The cynicism is cancerous.”

Dustin Mauser, a first-year law student, said he planned to use Thomas’ note card suggestion and shares his philosophy of pushing cynicism out of mind.

“I would probably personally disagree with ... a lot of his decisions, but I respect him just as much as any judge. He has so much integrity.”

Thomas told students to stay positive and not give in to the idea that those attending Ivy League law schools are better than they are. The Ivy League-educated can be seen as a new form of nobility, he said, but are no smarter or more capable than any of the students sitting in the courtyard with him.

Erica Perdomo, a third-year law student, said Thomas’ insistence that UF law students can succeed in the legal world as well as students from Harvard meant a lot.

Thomas said he prefers to select clerks from schools like UF or Louisiana State University and that going to such schools can save them thousands of dollars in debt that others saddle themselves with when they fall prey to “stargazing” and only consider the highest ranked — and very pricey — schools.

Previous clerks told him they were considered “TTT,” or “Third Tier Trash,” by bloggers looking at school rankings — but he doesn’t think those numbers matter. Students from UF are just as worthy of future opportunities as those from Yale or Harvard.

“Please don’t buy into this notion that somehow you’re excluded because of where you are in life,” he said as he gave students his last piece of advice for the day.

Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or morgan.watkins@gvillesun.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/morganwatkins26.